Independent foreign journalists are denied access to Gaza. So are humanitarian workers reporting about the plight of the population and human rights abuses.
Journalists should not have to turn to the courts to defend basic media freedoms.
And humanitarian organisations and their staff should not be forced to weigh up whether to say what they see on the ground and be banned or keep silent and be permitted to provide assistance.
These Israeli policies aim at further dehumanising Palestinians by denying their suffering and their existence.
Lifting the information embargo is long overdue.
ENDs-
UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, over 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
